LJ's New Landmark Library | Agave Library
Phoenix Public Library | Glendale, Arizona | Architect: will bruder PARTNERS May 15, 2011 |
| Grand Facade Once considered caught between a strip mall rock and a residential hard place, the Agave Library design makes the most of historical references and low-cost construction to give it a personality all its own. The 56' scrim makes it stand out in a crowd, as do the interior features like exposed wood truss ceilings, mid-century modern seating, wide open spaces, a large-scale ceiling sculpture, and a children's story tower. Photos by Bill Timmerman |
8 | How the West Was Won
The Agave branch of Phoenix Public Library might have been called the “Leftover Library” had the designers and stakeholders failed to rise to the challenges the project confronted. First, the site was a cheap, blighted, and virtually invisible spot between a strip mall and a residential area. Then, worse still, the budget got shorted when the library system had to borrow from the shared bond monies to complete earlier projects.
The designers drew on both the area’s history and typical retail construction methods for solutions. A soaring “cowboy” false front, riffing on those used in frontier towns, gives the library scale, presence, and distinction on par with its position in the community—at a very low cost. Self-finishing materials like exposed gang nail trusses decreased cost and added design power. Tucked behind the soaring façade is the same basic inexpensive masonry shell seen on the library’s retail neighbors.
Less is best
Several public input sessions yielded a common desire for the reading room to feel like a “public living room.” Arranging the three service areas—children’s, periodicals and fiction, and teens—along a wall next to a reading garden provided each with its own view and direct access to a discrete section of the garden. Unique rugs and colors that coordinate with the adjacent garden blooms give each its own identity.
That Agave Library has garnered many awards including an Honor Award, AIA Arizona 2010, might have something to do with the project’s “less is best” philosophy, which translated into fewer walls, carpets, paints, and finishes. It also led to more self-finishing materials, concrete floors, and block masonry walls because no-VOC use (volatile organic compounds) is better than low-VOC use. Native, low-water-use plants and trees planted on the 3.8-acre site save water.
It also has less in terms of service desks, as it is the first Phoenix branch to be designed with a single service point. The result is a boatlike 18' x 12' elliptical form with two access points for security. One side, facing the entry and self-check, is counter height, and the other, facing the computers and collections, is desk height. This centerpiece, partially lit by skylights and topped by the stunning large-scale sculpture overhead, is so visible that it needs no signage.
User-centric solutions throughout
Clever ideas are seen everywhere. Custom self-check counters include spaces for rubber bands, paper, and slots for quick cases for media. An etched bar on the Corian counter pinpoints the sweet spot in the 3M RFID system; the RFID reader pad is mounted under the counter to keep the surface simple to understand and clutter free.
A flexible public “electronic island” that can be closed off for computer training resolves the quandary of how to put public access computers to dual use.
The teen space feels private from within, yet it is visible from the single service point. Located as far as possible from the children’s area, it is also clearly visible from the street—so that teens inside can be seen by other teens outside.
Despite budget constraints, Agave staff were a high priority in the design. Every staff station has a window and view, and the staff lounge is equal in quality to the public spaces.
Visionary as the Agave Library is, Richard Jensen of will bruder PARTNERS says it wasn’t designed “for a future we don’t know.” Nonetheless, he adds, “it is equally foolish to not design for the ease and opportunity for change to happen.”
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Vitals OPENED 2009 New construction Branch Library SIZE 25,410 square feet COST $6.65 million POP SERVED 40,000 |
For more on trends in library design see "The Year in Architecture 2010."
